H.—3l.

Table C.—Senility: Average Yearly Number of Deaths per 10,000 of Population by Sex and in each Age-group.

Cancer. Cancer stands second to diseases of the heart as a cause of death, and in 1938 deaths attributed to this condition numbered 1,787, as compared with 1,777 in the previous year. The crude death-rate was 11-76 per 10,000 of mean population, a drop of 0-06 from that for 1937 (11-82). The crude death-rate has been increasing since records first became available in 1872. Records at that time were admittedly incomplete. In a statistical study of cancer in New Zealand by Mr J. W. Butcher, the present Government Statistician, published in the Official Year-Book 1926, it is stated :— " There can be little doubt that oven up to the ' seventies ' and 1 eighties' the deaths from cancer were considerably understated, and that each succeeding decade has seen a greater proportion of the deaths due to cancer correctly assigned to that disease." The increase in the cancer death-rate for both sexes, both crude and standardized, was rapid until near the end of the century, the increase in the case of males being greater than that for females. The average crude death-rate for the quinquennium 1899-1903 was 6-47 per 10,000 of mean population, and for 1934-38 was 11-62. Standardized rates for the same two periods were respectively 7-23 and 8-34. The latter rate (8-34) was actually exceeded as early as the quinquennium 1911-15, and the highest quinquennial average standardized rate was 8-52 for 1926-30. In the table given below the rates for each year from 1899 are given, and the accompanying graph prepared from these figures shows the trend of the rate since the beginning of the century. Five-yearly moving average rates have been taken, as these eliminate annual fluctuations and produce a smoother curve, the trend of the rate being more readily perceived. It will be noticed that since 1911—15 on only one occasion has the average rate exceeded 8-50 per 10,000 of population, the rate for 1926-30 being 8-52, and also that since 1911-15 the rate has remained markedly constant, fluctuating between 8-26 and 8-52.

Cancer: Standardized Death-rate per 10,000 of Population for the Sexes combined, 1899-1938.

Tabic D shows the average death-rates per 10,000 by sex and age-groups for the eight quinquennia since 1899.

Table D—Cancer: Average Yearly Number of Deaths per 10,000 of Population by Sex and in each Age-group.

18

Males. Females. CO 00 CO oo CO 00 00 CO 00 CO 00 CO 00 t „ n S 12 rH 05 <N CO CO | on<V O rH tH (N CO CO A S e - 1899- T i I T l l 1899- 1 I I i i i i ,, QftO <35 T* C5 *1< C5 -t 1 1903. © C rH tH <N CO CO 1VHI8. O O tH tH <N <M CO 2 2 iH rH tH tH iH 6 K 70 23-4 16-7 21 '0 29-8 24-3 17-2 7-2 8-9 15-9 17-1 16-3 19-0 16-0 10-2 5-5 4-1 70 _ 7 r, " " 100-6 87-2 75-5 100-7 73-9 49-1 29-7 24-2 73-5 85-4 69-0 78-8 55-4 41-4 18-6 17 0 7 -_ 80 " " 233-7 235-8 194-6215-7 192-8 118-9 69-2 50-6243-0229-3 184-0205-3 173-2 122-3 60-4 43-6 80 and over " 846-3 852 ■ 6 756 ■ 1 752 ■ 0 684 ■ 7 547 • 8 263 • 1 182 • 2 986 • 6 908 • 2 778 ■ 4 757 • 9 674 • 8 488 • 4 242 • 9 182 • 5

Standardized ~ Standardized v Standardized Year - Death-rate. Y Death-rate. * ear " Death-rate. 1899 6-91 1913 .. .. 8-43 1926 .. .. 8-76 1900 6•31 1914 .. .. 8-60 1927 .. .. 8-30 1901 7-47 1915 .. .. 8-48 1928 .. .. 8-38 1902 7'55 1916 .. .. 7-98 1929 .. .. 8-76 1903 7-90 1917 .. .. 8-17 1930 .. .. 8-39 1904 .. 7-21 1918 .. .. 8-05 1931 .. .. 8-38 1905 .. .. 6-90 1919 .. .. 8-67 1932 .. .. 7-98 1906 7-49 1920 .. .. 8-65 1933 .. .. 8-58 1907 7-91 1921 .. .. 8-51 1934 .. .. 8-73 1908 7-52 1922 .. .. 7-89 1935 .. .. 8-23 1909 7'60 1923 .. .. 8-04 1936 .. .. 8-44 1910 7-85 1924 .. .. 8-71 1937 .. .. 8-23 19H .. .. 8-28 1925 .. .. 8-13 1938 .. .. 8-08 1912 .. „ 8-27

Males. Females. 00 CO 00 W 00 CO 00 CO CO* CO CO CO CO CO "<*- 2 2 3 2 ! i i iigg- ! I 3 s ! 2 ! 1903. o © rH r-t Ol Ol CO i«Ud. © O T-l iH (M f}\ CO O Ci Ci Cj O Oi O 2 th 2 2 2 0_] 0-2 0-5 0-6 0-3 0-8 .. 0-2 0-2 (M 0-5 0-6 0-1 0-4 1_5 o-l 0-2 0-7 0-5 0-4 0-3 0-4 0-4 .. 0-4 0-4 0-2 0-4 0-3 0-3 0-4 g_10 0-4 0-2 0-2 0-1 0-2 0 1 0-3 0-3 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-2 0-2 0'1 0-2 10-15 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-3 0-1 0-3 0-2 0-1 0-05 0-2 0-1 0-1 0-3 0-1 0-2 0-3 15-20 0-4 0-4 0-3 0-4 0-4 0-3 0-2 0-3 0-3 0-1 0-1 0-2 0-2 0-1 0-3 0-3 20-25 0-4 0-3 0-3 0-5 0-4 0-8 0-5 0-8 0-5 0-1 0-3 0-2 0-3 0-3 0-5 0-5 25-30 0-6 0-7 0-6 0-9 0-3 0-5 0-9 0-6 1 0 1 1 1-0 0-6 0-6 1-0 0-9 0-7 30-35 0-7 0-9 1-3 0-7 1-0 1-0 0-9 1 5 1-8 1-7 2 1 1-9 1-9 2-5 2-5 2-1 35_40 2-8 1-9 2-3 2-2 2-3 2-5 2-6 2-7 4-7 4-6 4-7 4-0 4-3 4-4 4-5 3-9 40-45 4-6 4-3 4-6 4-7 4-5 4 1 3-8 4-410-4 9-9 9-6 7-9 8-5 8-4 7-3 8-8 45_50 ' 10-7 8-8 8-3 9-6 8-4 8-8 8-4 7-518-4 14-9 16-0 17-1 14-7 15-8 14-8 14-9 50-55 16-1 17-0 19-1 16-8 16-6 15-4 17-1 14-122-9 21-0 22-3 23-5 24-5 24-3 20-9 21-0 55_60 29-2 24-5 30-0 27-2 27-7 29-3 23-7 25-932-7 33-0 35-2 32-2 31-7 30-0 28-2 30-7 60-65 37-0 45-1 46-0 41-1 47-4 50-1 44•« 42-439-9 44-5 41-1 44-1 42-1 43-5 42-5 41-1 65_7o 51-4 53-3 60-5 08-2 65-8 70-6 75-3 66-1 46-8 56-3 58-1 61-9 55-7 55-7 55-1 55-3 70-75 ' 73-7 80-1 81-9 94-7 91-7 96-7 94-4108-462-4 62-0 73-0 70-6 84-0 82-0 79-6 77-1 75-80 83-2 90-3 87-9 90-4 105-1 130-5 137-8 130-3 77-4 75-9102-5 82-5 99-0 93-5102-8 97-3 80 and over 71-6 79-4 96-5 112-1 100-0 128-9 147-0 165-4 48-7 60-8 96-7 90-4 99-8 114-6 125-9 127-2